


Joie de vivre

by LillithBlack



Series: To the Isles of the Blessed [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Established Relationship, Kid Fic, Multi, Reincarnation, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-13
Updated: 2014-01-23
Packaged: 2018-01-08 15:00:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1134059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LillithBlack/pseuds/LillithBlack
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nothing was wrong per say.<br/>But.<br/>Being son of the death god came with its quirks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Nico

Nico had known something was wrong since that Sunday morning sometime in Annabeth’s second trimester, when he’d refused to let her out of bed.

 He’d just clung to her, hand practically moulded to her midriff, using her breast as a pillow, tears silently leaking out of his eyes and soaking into the shirt of Percy’s she wiggled into earlier.  She hadn’t said anything and just laid there with him letting him cling to her like a limpet for the better part of the morning and well into the afternoon. They hadn’t moved despite Percy’s various ADHD fuelled antics, to get them out of bed and making use of the day.

Around noon he cleared off with a half-hearted jibe of “maybe the kids at camp will appreciate me better…” A little while after that Annabeth’s stomach and passenger made their unhappiness at missing breakfast known so they slipped out of bed.

Nico stood behind her, hands resting on the gentle curve of her belly, chin resting on her shoulder as she made them sandwiches.  They ate them right there at the counter, standing together looking out the kitchen window at the New York street below.

Finally with a sigh she turned in his arms and asked “I’m not getting anything done today am I?”

He answered by tucking his face into her neck and just breathing out. The hair at the nape of her neck that had escaped her messy bun fluttered from his breathing, tickling his nose but he refused to move.

Annabeth somehow managed to manoeuvre them to the sofa despite Nico’s floppy cat like behaviour and turned on the TV. They lay more than sat with Nico between Annabeth’s legs head resting on her bump as she carded her hands through his hair. That’s how Percy found them when he returned that evening.

“I brought Pizza!!” He exclaimed bounding in and shuffling Nico over, the boy was pretty limp still so Percy just squeezed onto the couch and moved Nico’s feet into his lap. They ate Pizza with Nico practically lying across their laps refusing to say a word. For a while it was nice and peaceful. Something they hardly ever got to experience, not with how rowdy the three of them to could get together.

But then Percy started trying to needle Nico to responsiveness. He began by tickling Nico’s sock clad feet at which he kicked out and struggled. And then they were having an all-out yelling and grappling rough house. Someone accidentally elbowed Annabeth’s chest and she wince and made much more of a fuss than would be normal as a result of their antics. At which Percy started to leer and quote the pregnancy books about ‘sensitivity’. The other two tried to asphyxiate him with a cushion.

The day ended on a much cheerier note than it had begun and Nico was smiling and tussling with Percy again and _talking_. But he still couldn’t throw off the leaden feeling he’d woken up with.

Nothing was wrong per say.

But.

Being son of the death god came with its quirks.

One of them being the debilitating feeling of sadness you got from your girlfriend’s unborn child. He felt miserable and eerie. He ached as if in loss over someone that didn’t even exist yet. He wanted to hold on to Annabeth and the baby and never let go. He wanted to run away and never look back. Why was the baby making him feel like this? Why now? Why not the first day weeks ago when he’d first felt that spark of life from her?

The feeling passed though and Nico put it out of his mid.

Or he tried for the most part at least.

Sometimes he would wonder. Maybe the baby was going to die as soon as it was born. Maybe the baby was his and was doomed to a life underground ostracized just like him. Maybe… maybe nothing. Maybe he just couldn’t deal with becoming a father at 19, despite sharing it with two other people and was just acting out.

He’d completely forgotten everything about the feelings in his gut the day the baby finally arrived. He was half mad with panic, bickering with Percy at every turn. If Annabeth hadn’t put her foot down and made the hospital staff (in spite of their side eyes at the _two_ of them) let them _both_ in to the labour room with her they probably would have started a life-threatening brawl in the middle of the hospital waiting room.

Having lost the feeling in his left arm, through Annabeth’s grip, fear and excitement eating his stomach in equal bouts, he was utterly unprepared when the doctor placed the baby in his arms.

Percy was pulling Annabeth’s sweaty curls back, still holding her hand even though Nico knew it was probably somewhere in the underworld by now considering his own bruised fingers.

“Well?” He asked kissing an exhausted Annabeth’s forehead and staying there nuzzling her face.

“How is she?”

The baby was all red and wrinkly as far as Nico could see, a patch of dark hair a top her head.  Slowly she opened her eyes, blinking them big and wide at him.

Nico felt the earth shift out from under his feet and he must have swayed because suddenly Percy was beside him helping him shakily collapse into a chair. Nico didn’t even see him leap around from the other side of Annabeth’s bed.

“Well?” He asked again, hushed this time. He reached out shakily and held the baby’s head under Nico’s hand.

Nico knew Annabeth was looking down at them tired but fond and Percy was letting out little huffs of excited happy breaths at his side but Nico couldn't look away from their baby’s face. The world stilled and fell silent at he gazed down at the big brown, utterly familiar eyes of his sister.

And suddenly his feelings of strange melancholy from that day made so much more sense. How did he not notice?

“She’s beautiful.” He choked out and trying valiantly to swallow his tears.

“Yeah… she’s awesome.” Percy breathed down his neck.

And Nico forgot why he was trying not to cry in the first place.


	2. Percy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy was pretty sure it had all been his fault, from the very beginning.
> 
> In every way conceivable.
> 
> Still unbetad. Anyone wanna take a crack at it? Anyone?

 

Percy was pretty sure it had all been his fault, from the very beginning.

In every way conceivable.

There he’d been, sitting by the big lake at camp, brooding into the summer sunset. Thinking about all the what-ifs and should haves. All the friends lost, all the lives he could have- or at least trying not to think of all that.

The fact that he’d left the apartment after a terrible fight with Nico and Annabeth didn’t help his sour mood either. His fights with Annabeth were explosive, they shouted, they threw things, they threatened bodily harm and flung insults. They also usually made up by the end of the day and had just as explosive make up sex.

Nico on the other hand was the biggest passive aggressive shit this side of the planet. He sulked and insisted he wasn’t angry, that nothing was wrong all the while giving Percy glares behind his back and sniffing at every suggestion. Percy was at his wits end, it was beyond aggravating apologising when Nico didn’t even acknowledge he was mad in the first place. This time he got Annabeth in to it too.

They had both ganged up on him.

Percy had fumed.

They lake had water began to boil.

He let out a breath and it had stopped.

While he admit somewhere in his thick seaweed encrusted skull that the fight had pretty much been all his fault he wasn’t completely ready to accept it yet. Nor did he know how to go about appeasing them.

He had glared around at a group of kids taking turn to drop objects off a nearby dock into the frothy lake water. Some of them had been very young, none of them older than eight or so. Two twin toddlers hanging off an older girl’s skirts among them.

It had reminded him so suddenly of Nico and Bianca from a long forgotten winter’s day that his glare had dropped away. Percy had wondered what she would say to him if she saw him now. Fighting with her brother like this.  She’d asked him to take care of him and instead Percy had abandoned him and let him hurt for so long.

Well she might have had a few choice words to say if she knew exactly how much Percy was taking care of her brother.

The kids ran to the edge of the dock and Percy raised a hand making a big bubble rise from the water and float for a while before popping. The two boys squealed and giggled and ran back to the older girl. Percy had grinned and felt a little wistful shift in his gut. A sense of longing for what he didn’t know, only that it made his chest hurt and breath catch.

It had been the longest era of peace demi-gods and their parents alike had known in centuries. Population at camp was increasing by the truckload every year.

The dinner gong had run and the kids had stampeded off the dock, in a flurry of giggles and cheers.  One of the twin boys had detached from the group and come up to him.

“Come one Mr. Percy you’ll be late for dinner!” He’d tugged on Percy’s pant leg and of course Percy had been unable to resist.

Percy had planned on hiding out at camp but his brooding had led him to some funny conclusions that made his stomach flop.

He loved Annabeth and Nico and no matter what, he wanted to be with them forever. He wanted to be a family with them, whatever than may mean. He had never thought he’d get this kind of happiness. What was he doing hiding from them. He was going to go back and grovel for as long as he needed to till he could make it right.

He had tried very hard not to focus too much on how he’d come to this resolve after an extensive iris call with his mother, where-in she had dropped grandbaby hints like they were going out of style or that he’d then sat brooding watching kids play and wondering what would Nico have been like at that age.

He blamed it completely on his ability to jinx everything and the visions of super intelligent blonde toddlers running around his head on the way home for what happened next. He was pretty sure his inadvertent hopes for the future made it a sudden startling reality.

When he had gotten home he found Nico was violently throwing up in the toilet and Annabeth frozen near him looking down at something in her hand.

Percy had skidded to a halt at the bathroom door.

“Guys what-?”

Annabeth had rounded on him at this point eyes flashing, a glazed panicked look in them.

“This is all your fault!” She’d flung what she had been holding at him, hitting him square in the head.

He had yelped clutched his head. “Look I was trying to say sorry, you don’t need to attack me! Besides if Nico would just admit he’s mad we could all have angry make up sex and get over this already!”

He’d shuffle into the bathroom warily as Nico turned around to glare at him eyes blood shoot.

“It’s Nico’s fault too! Hey are you okay? What's wrong?” For Nico had turned back to worship at the porcelain altar and dry heaved.

“Oh it’s Nico’s fault too alright!!” Annabeth stomped towards them picking up a second object from the sink. She had thrown it at Percy and this time he caught it.

“Hey what’s this?” He looked at the small white stick sceptically.

Nico had given a dramatic whimper while Annabeth stormed out.

Percy had stood very, very still for all of 2 seconds staring at the thing in his hands.

“Wait it this- is she? Does this mean?” He had spluttered.

“Why do you think I’ve been so moody and throwing up for the last half hour?” Nico had rasped angrily. Percy had crouched down so they were eye level and pulled Nico’s hair back.

“What. Does. This. Mean?” He’d held up the little white stick with a plus on it staring intensely at Nico.

“It means that our girlfriend is pregnant and the two life signatures have given me a migraine and upset stomach because I didn’t understand.”

Percy had stared.

“What?” he’d said intelligently.

“Go see if she’s okay fish breath!!” Nico had moaned.

“Wait. Baby?” Percy only seemed capable of small words.

“Yes!!”

Percy’s eyes had blown wide and he’d swooped down to plant a messy kiss on Nico, sick and all. Nico had waved him away and clutched the toilet bowl pretending to gag, but unable to hide his own incredulous smile.

 Percy had straightened up, patted Nico on the shoulder, wiped his mouth and bounded away after Annabeth to lift her of her feet and twirl her around till she too felt sick. He’d planted kisses all over her face and anywhere he could reach and chanted ‘baby’ over and over.

Nico had rested his head against the cool ceramic for minute or two listening to Percy laugh and Annabeth shriek.

By the time Nico had made it out of the toilet Percy had been grinning ear to ear, he’d had Annabeth flat out on the living floor as he kissed her ridiculously flat stomach. She’s had an arm flung across her face in disgust but neither of them could remain mad in the face of Percy’s pure joy.

Percy was still pretty much convinced that he’d simply willed the baby into existence by his simple yearning for it and as an easily resolution to their petty fights.

He still couldn’t believe it nine months later as he gazed down at their baby girl, gurgling in Nico’s shaky arms.

Pretty soon he heard Nico sniff, his tears mostly dry by now. Percy valiantly pretended not to notice, feeling a little teary himself.

“Hey hey, when is it my turn to hold her?” he poked a reluctant Nico. Nico glared at him but his heart wasn’t in it.

“Your turn? Who just went through twelve hours of labour seaweed brain? I want to at least look at my baby girl?”

Nico looked up at this highly distraught, clutching the little wriggling bundle to his chest tighter.

The nurses left them alone for approximately three minutes before getting all uncomfortable and trying to hustle them out. Nico finally relented and reluctantly handed the baby over to Annabeth, whom they had moved to a wheel chair.

Annabeth let out a sigh as she settled the baby into her arms and looked down at her, her face glowed even more beautiful than during her pregnancy and Percy wanted to kiss her and kiss her till they couldn’t breathe anymore.  But the nurses were already scandalised worse than Hazel on good day so he relented however in favour of guiding Nico along by the hand in the wake of Annabeth’s wheel chair as one aforementioned scandalised nurse wheeled it towards the recovery ward.

Nico who couldn’t keep his eyes off their child, _their child,_ **_their actual kid_** and was bound to walk into anything. He hadn’t said a word just stared at baby all wide eyes and melancholy.

Baby had dirty blonde hair as far as Percy could tell and dark brown eyes, idly he wondered if Nico was acting so poleaxed because it was pretty clear baby was his. Not that Percy cared all that much about paternity. Baby was theirs.

Maybe this explained why Nico had been so sick with Annabeth at the start or why he had had mood swings worse than her over the whole ordeal?

Presently they were led into a small room where Annabeth could feed baby, there were a few chairs, a bed for Annabeth onto which she settled and a tiny cot. The nurse told them how someone would be in to measure and check baby and do things before they could be allowed to go home. Annabeth seemed to be the only one paying attention.

As soon as they were alone, silence descended. Despite their battle instincts and high adrenaline of only minutes before, being alone with baby, as Percy had taken to calling her in his head, seem to have struck all three demi-gods mute and still.

Of course baby chose that moment to start using her healthy little lungs and began bawling her eyes out. They all jumped into action, stunned out of their shock.

Annabeth panicked and rocked the baby a bit.

“Oh no what happed, what did I do?”

“Annabeth baby is crying do something!” Percy fluttered at her side uselessly.

“What am I supposed to do I don’t know why she’s crying?” Annabeth suddenly wanted nothing to do with the wriggling screeching bundle in her arms.

“She’s hungry you idiots!” Nico growled though he looked just as panicked. They stared at him.

He blushed and looked away.

“So you know… Annabeth you have to feed her.”  He refused to meet their eyes.

“Oh,” Annabeth said softly. “Right I know how to do this I read about this.” She muttered.

Suddenly despite having been naked together many times none of them could look at each other as Annabeth fumbled with lifting her hospital gown. Baby shut up pretty quickly after that.

They were saved from an awkward silence by the arrival of a male nurse.

Annabeth squeaked and Percy growled and Nico surreptitiously snuck a finger into baby’s curled little fist.  He seemed not to notice how close that put him to Annabeth practically uncovered chest, but she let it go.

The nurse rolled his eyes at Percy and handed him a bunch of forms.

“Please fill these out and ring the bell once you’re done and I’ll come in to measure her.” He flung over his shoulder.

A second later Percy sat down on Annabeth’s other side with the forms.

“So what are we naming her?”  He grinned at them.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Just something I whipped up at 2am last night and so un-beta-ed. I wouldn't be opposed to any volunteers though :P Im probably gonna write some Percy POV at some stage.


End file.
